Analysts mull effects of recent consumer credit numbers

For a long while during the recent spate of subprime MBS volatility, the most ardent proponents of credit card ABS told the industry that there was no discernible risk of contagion from troubled mortgage-backed securities products.

Recently, however, the Center for Financial Research and Analysis (CFRA), an independent debt and equity research firm, raised fresh questions about the credit card sector's ability to keep problems from the subprime MBS and the Alt-A sector from spilling over into credit cards. After assessing a group of major credit card trusts, the company asserted that credit quality had deteriorated for most trusts over the last 12 months.

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